Duty-paid advertising shifts the burden to prove lawful acquisition; confiscation and penalty follow on inadequate proof.

Advertising goods as customs duty-paid places the burden on the person in possession to prove lawful import or acquisition. Here, the appellant failed to produce satisfactory proof when questioned, and the later documents relied on were not accepted in light of the surrounding circumstances and contradictory explanations. The finding that the goods were not lawfully acquired therefore supported confiscation, and the penalty was sustained. The principle applied is that, even where a statutory presumption for notified goods does not apply, an affirmative claim of duty-paid status requires credible proof of licit origin.

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Issues: Whether confiscation of the air-conditioners and the penalty imposed on the appellant were justified when the appellant had advertised the goods as customs duty-paid and later sought to rely on receipts and baggage documents to prove lawful acquisition.

Analysis: Although air-conditioners were not covered by the statutory presumption applicable to notified goods, the appellant's own advertisement offering the goods as duty-paid placed upon him the obligation to establish their licit origin. The appellant failed to produce satisfactory proof at the time of seizure or when first summoned, and the later-produced documents were found unconvincing in the surrounding circumstances. On the facts, the explanation offered for the baggage receipts and auction documents was rejected, and the contradictory stands taken by the appellant reinforced the inference that the goods were not lawfully acquired.

Conclusion: The confiscation was valid and the penalty was rightly imposed against the appellant.

Final Conclusion: The appeal was dismissed, and the order of confiscation together with the penalty was upheld.

Ratio Decidendi: A person who advertises goods as customs duty-paid assumes the burden of proving their lawful import or acquisition, and if that burden is not satisfactorily discharged, confiscation and penalty are sustainable.

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